which baby cereal is best/most healthy?

Question

my son is 4.5 months old. I want to start cereal soon . which brand is best and at this age do i mix anything in it? should i make my own purees rather than something like gerber? i prefer natural and no preservatives

Answer 1

If you read what is commerical infant cereal you wouldn't even feed it to a dog. Babies do not need infant cereal. If you really want to introduce grains you can use whole grains, you can buy oat bran at most bulk stores and it cooks up just like infant cereal but without the chemicals, synthetic vitamins and milk products. You can puree cooked or depending on your grinder uncooked rice, oats, bran, etc, etc.

To add iron and zinc to a babies diet the best source is meat and meat substitutes like lentils and dried beans.

Meat is a recommended first food from many organizations including La Leche League. Meat is high in zinc and iron which babies need.

"When your baby's ready for her first food, you can make it almost anything — even meat. The standard advice has been to start babies on iron-fortified cereal around 5 or 6 months and wait until 8 to 10 months before introducing meat, but "it should actually be in the mix of the earliest foods," says Nancy Krebs, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver."
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/baby/article/0,19840,1145323,00.html


"Many experts (including LLL) suggest giving meat or other foods naturally rich in iron instead of foods with added iron. For more information on iron, see Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary? "
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html

"Once you have determined that your baby is ready for solid foods, you need to decide what foods to offer him. It is wise to introduce only one food at a time, allowing at least a week before the introduction of another new food, so you can detect the cause of any allergic reactions. THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING makes the following suggestions for introducing solids: begin with a raw mashed banana, boiled or baked sweet potato, or raw mashed avocado; follow with meat, fish, whole grain breads and cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables. If you wait at least a week between the introduction of each new food it may take several months before your baby is ready to sit down to “three square meals a day.” Chapter 13, “Ready for Solids,” in THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING is full of tips and suggestions that will make the addition of solid foods to your baby's diet go more smoothly. Another source of information is the cookbook Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. This cookbook features many meatless recipes and includes variations for making recipes suitable for babies and children."
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBMayJun99p86.html

"6 to 9 months of age

Your baby's iron reserves may begin to diminish around this time. Serving pureed meat or dark meat chicken as a part of your baby's diet adds a well-assimilated source of iron that is not likely to cause constipation"
http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bnutrition/0,,69w0-p,00.html

"6-9Strained meats/poultry
Mixtures of strained vegetables and fruits
Chunky, soft prepared baby foods
Egg yolk
Yogurt
Cottage cheese"
http://ific.org/publications/brochures/solidsbroch.cfm



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DO BABIES NEED CEREAL
Cereal is not at all necessary, particularly the baby cereals. Regular (whole grain) oatmeal is more nutritious for your baby. Many doctors recommend iron-fortified rice cereal as baby's first food because it is less likely to cause an allergic reaction and because most babies sometime after the 6th month require an additional iron source other than mother's milk. If your baby starts solids around 6 months or later, there is much less chance of allergic reaction to foods. It's debatable whether healthy breastfed babies need the extra iron (you can get baby's iron levels checked if you're worried about this). In addition, infants need lots of protein and cereal has a low protein-calorie ratio (even lower when mixed with water or fruit). Many experts (including LLL) suggest giving meat or other foods naturally rich in iron instead of foods with added iron. For more information on iron, see Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html

"The truth is, there is nothing special about these foods that makes them better to start out with. Babies don't actually even need rice cereal. So, if your baby becomes constipated after starting foods, here is what you can do."
http://askdrsears.com/faq/ci2.asp

Answer 2

Our pediatrician's philosolhy is that when you start feeding them cereal isnt not actually a feeding but more of spoon practice. (getting them used to taking food from a spoon) Gerber and other companies have organic baby food which is a few cents more per container but not completely unreasonable if you can afford it. If you have the time I would definately make your own and use the prepackaged organics for travel or if you go out to dinner until the baby can share your veggies and fruits.

I think it is good for them to get some grains. I think the oatmeal or barley cereals are better than rice. The rice cereal made my daughter (now 8 months old)constipated so we switched to oatmeal (which you can also buy organic in the baby aisle). We mix just a little with formula and eat that with fruit for breakfast. We dont eat it at any other meal. We eat a meat and a fruit or veggie for dinner.

Answer 3

Earth's Best is organic and does not have all the added junk that Gerber has. I started my son on Gerber rice cereal and he was terribly constipated and gassy after just a few times. His sleeping became fitful and he woke more often! When I read the label I was shocked to see all the extra "stuff" in it. Earth's Best has exactly what it says on the label: RICE or OATS or BARLEY. If you have time to make your own go for it! There are books available on making your own baby foods -even cereals.

Only mix breast milk, formula, or water until your baby has started fruits at six months or later.

Good luck.

Answer 4

We use Gerber Organic Brown rice cereal. No, you are not supposed to mix anything in (except formula) until he is eating 2 tablespoons of it 2x per day. Then you can introduce other stage one solids (or juice, but I don't like to do that because of the sugar content). You just have to do one at a time to make sure he isn't allergic to anything.

Like PP said, that advice is becoming outdated. Some peds are starting to reccommend fruits and veggies first. At this age, though, you aren't really letting your baby get nutrients from the food, but teaching him good eating habits (sitting in the high chair, interacting with the caregiver, etc). His main nutrition will still be from breastmilk/formula. Some people suggest bananas, but when I tried that, my daughter got so constipated that she ended up in the ER with a torn rectum. Rice cereal tends to be more gentle. It is bland, whereas applesauce and bananas are sugary (even though it is better than other table sugar, it still teaches them to like sweet stuff). Rice is pretty devoid of nutrients, though, unlike other fruits and veggies. Of course, like I said, they are still getting nutrients from their milk. So there are the 2 sides of that debate.

I would go with my instinct and doctor's advice. I don't ever ever ever ever feed my daughter those baby desserts. I call them obesity in a can. :) I can see that definitely teaches them to like sugary foods.

Answer 5

I've always trusted Gerber but more important than brand is that your start your baby on rice cereal moistened with formula. Rice is the easiest one for them to digest and will cause the least problems. If you are breast feeding, I'd advise pumping and using that to moisten the cereal rather than add anything that could cause an allergy. I have a genetic condition called Celiac disease and what you eat early on can be very important. We know that 1 in 100 people in the US have this and if you are of Northern European descent the chances are higher that you have the gene to cause it. It's an immune illness very much like rheumatoid arthritis and most cases of failure to thrive in infants is from it. It's a response to eating the gluten in wheat, rye and barley and sometimes oats. Recent studies show that if you introduce wheat to your child during the 6th month they are less likely to develop it later on than if it is introduced earlier or later. I good way to introduce it is with teething cookies. My prayer is that your family doesn't have this gene but just in case it takes such a little bit of care to avoid a problem it is worth it. God Bless

Answer 6

I'm not sure what brand of cereal is best, I just know that some doctors consider cereal to be essentially baby junk food. I would ask your pediatrician his/her opinion, and if they reccomend cereal, then maybe ask what brand they prefer.

Answer 7

Ok first of all you can start feeding your son babyfood at 3 months as long as you dont tell the doctor. Also the best brand ive heard of is Gerber, and you dont have to mix it with anything unless you get the dry stuff then you have to mix it. Also since its your son you can puree it if you want to, and it is healthy and more nutritious for him... Good luck on your search and hope this helps.

Answer 8

I'm glad you are health conscious but infant cereals like Beech Nut are appropriate for babies because they supply iron, calcium and vitamins. Infant cereals are made specially formulated to provide necessary nutrients for a healthy baby. My pediatrician recommended Beech Nut stage 1 rice cereal for first solids. First feeding should be 1 tbsp then increase as your child appetite increases. Yes, it has to be mixed you can use breast milk, infant formulas, infant juice or water.

Answer 9

I think is good to start with the rice cereal and you can add water, banana or juice.